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RF Interference From LED Auxiliary Lighting

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Seven-Delta-FortyOne

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I have cheap LED lights on the work truck, and when turned on, pretty much wipe out all radio signals on the VHF/UHF and scanner, and put noise on the CB.

I bought a box of ferrite chokes, and added them to the power lines going to the LEDs, to the power line going into the radios, and to the antennas on the radios/scanners, and they made absolutely no difference whatsoever.

I'll eventually upgrade to higher quality work lights, like Rigid Industries, but I'm wondering if there are some lights that are just not fixable, or is there a technique that I'm not aware of?

By the way, I have a not particularly high-end warning light bar, i.e., not a Whelen or Federal Signal, and it does not affect the radios at all.

Thanks for any input.


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OhSixTJ

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I had a cheap pair of leds in my bumper that would affect the reverse sensors when on. I tried everything to stop then from doing so. The fix was a different brand of slightly more expensive (but still cheap) lights.


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ipfd320

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in these LED Lights its the Driver Unit that,s Causeing This as it Feeds Back thru the Wiring---Ferrites Dont Help--all you Can do is Change them Out and hope for the best or go back to incandecent lighting if you can still find them
 

Seven-Delta-FortyOne

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in these LED Lights its the Driver Unit that,s Causeing This as it Feeds Back thru the Wiring---Ferrites Dont Help--all you Can do is Change them Out and hope for the best or go back to incandecent lighting if you can still find them

I have cheap LED lights on the work truck

Thanks, but this is a vehicle issue.




You could add some filtering, and/or inline chokes, on the LED wiring.


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I bought a box of ferrite chokes, and added them to the power lines going to the LEDs, to the power line going into the radios, and to the antennas on the radios/scanners, and they made absolutely no difference whatsoever.


Thanks, but I tried that.




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Seven-Delta-FortyOne

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I already know it's a cheap light issue. That's what I said in my original post.

My comment about it being a vehicle issue was directed at the individual who suggested I go back to incandescent lighting. The alternative to LED for vehicle lighting would be Halogen, not incandescent. Which leads me to believe that that commentator did not notice that I was discussing an issue with LEDs in a vehicle, not an issue with LEDs in a home.

Up to speed now?


Delta
 

OhSixTJ

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I already know it's a cheap light issue. That's what I said in my original post.



My comment about it being a vehicle issue was directed at the individual who suggested I go back to incandescent lighting. The alternative to LED for vehicle lighting would be Halogen, not incandescent. Which leads me to believe that that commentator did not notice that I was discussing an issue with LEDs in a vehicle, not an issue with LEDs in a home.



Up to speed now?





Delta



Incandescent is any bulb that uses heat to make light. This includes, among household bulbs, halogen bulbs used on vehicles.

Up to speed now?




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RogueSteward

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A crappy fact about many LED lights is that many use a square wave power source and flash on and off very fast. The square wave is very noisy.
 

ipfd320

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Thank You---oh-six---for the Back Up--Sounds Like Rogue Got it Right Along with Me on the Drivers

as for 7 Delta---We Tried but Arrogant Replies Don,t Help---as an Electrician by Trade and an Auto Mechanic for 18 Yrs I Think I Know what an Incandescent Bulb Is--Old School---1156 / 1157--Automotive Incandescent Light Bulbs
 

prcguy

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I had a big noise problem with home lighting switching to LEDs and ferrites made a huge difference. You have to choose the right ferrite mix and use the right amount of snap on beads or turns of wire through the beads, otherwise they will do nothing.

In my case the problem was mostly in the VHF/UHF range from about 100MHz through 470MHz. I found three #43 mix ferrite beads right at the light socket did the job and I had about 10 light fixtures that needed the treatment. I had to turn them all off but one to experiment with, otherwise I could not see any progress due to the noise from the untreated lights.

If your noise problem is at a lower frequency like CB you may have to use a different mix of ferrite like #31 or maybe #77 with up to five or six turns of wire through the center of the bead. The bead must be as close as possible to the noise source, otherwise any wiring between the noise source and bead(s) will be the antenna that radiates the noise everywhere.

So if you only tried a bead or two on the wires to the lights and it did nothing, try it again with a known ferrite mix for your problem frequency range and use the right amount of turns until the noise is reduced. Most people give up without trying all the possibilities.
 

12dbsinad

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LED lighting, either warning lights or illumination, is a serious issue in regards to interference. And, it doesn't stop at lighting either. Many other modern day cheaply built electronic devices cause RFI.

As far as lighting goes, stick to high end brands. Whelen and Sound Off signal to name a few. Whelen tests all their products in a special chamber for RFI, and they do not radiate any garbage one bit. You get what you pay for.
 

wwhitby

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I was heading to work a couple of weeks ago, and my Kenwood TK-780 was getting a rhythmic interference at a regular interval that was breaking the squelch on frequencies with no PL tones.

I crested the hill, and saw a wide load 18 wheeler at the bottom with a white light strobe on top. I noticed that the flashed coincided perfectly with the interference I was getting.
 
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